Nine on the Line Redux
by gigundoly
Summary: Two worlds, one sinking ship, and one semi-psychic with a plan to change it all. Rachel wants to see Tina and Artie together by episode nine, season two. But she'll need a little help from her friends. COMPLETED.  Spoilers for 2x09
1. I, Jenna Ush

**Nine on the Line Redux**

Summary: Two worlds, one sinking ship, and one semi-psychic with a plan to change it all. Rachel wants to see Tina and Artie together by episode nine, season two. But she'll need a little help from her friends.

* * *

_Jenna_

I pull away from him, unable to kiss Harry with a straight face for very much longer. Whenever I get the giggles while we're filming a scene, it usually takes me awhile to recover. They're all pretty used to this by now, but it doesn't stop my costars from giving me a hard time.

"Sorry," I say, pushing his "ab-ulous" body away. He's shirtless for this scene, like so many others. It's pretty much a rule now that Chord and/or Harry must appear naked from the waist up at least once in each episode. We joke with Ryan that they ought to just put it in their contracts.

"That can go on the blooper reel." But as I search for the cast and crew, no one else is around at the moment. It's just the two of us, alone in the dark hallway. Harry's giving me a puzzled look as I'm leaning over his wheelchair for our big kiss.

Yes, _Harry's _wheelchair. Ryan's brainchild for a parallel scene between "Wheels" and episode nine, season two was another wheelchair race and a kiss. But this time, it's a Mike and Tina scene in which they've borrowed the Proud Mary chairs from backstage to race down the halls after school. Kevin and I are totally opposed to the idea, but who are we to advise the writers against it? We're just the actors.

"Who... are you talking to?" asks Harry, mystified. "There's no one here but us. Wasn't that the whole reason we planned it this way? A date without my mom, without anyone..."

I can hardly listen to what he's saying. I'm still trying to figure out how the heck I even got here. I don't even recall showing up on set today. And I have no idea why Harry won't break character. Sighing, I just play along.

"And it would have been a brilliant plan, Mike," I retort, rolling my eyes at him. "But the problem is that Artie's around the corner spying on us as we speak."

"Dammit, you knew I was here?" shrieks Kevin, wheeling furiously around the corner. He glares down the hallway at the two of us. Unable to contain myself, I start giggling again. This one's a blooper reel scene for sure! Well, it would be if we had a camera crew…

"Okay, stop, enough," I say, gasping for breath as I clutch my stomach. "Can we just take it from the top? I've completely forgotten how this is really supposed to go."

"Is that so?" Kevin's voice sounds oddly strangled, as though he's trying to control himself. He gives his wheels a hard push and, before I know what's happening, he cries out, "Well, allow me to show you!"

Puck-and-Finn style, Artie reams Mike's chair with his and the two of them go crashing to the ground. I scream, leaping out of my wheelchair. Kevin slugs Harry hard in the face before Harry, having the advantage due to his size, is able to shove Kevin off of his body. Kevin's legs are all tangled as though they haven't moved once during the fight. He struggles to push himself up to a sitting position, but makes no further effort to go after Harry. Harry's nose is bleeding as he shoots daggers at Kevin with his eyes. Upon closer examination, I realize that's not stage blood.

"What's your problem, dude?" Harry demands to know.

"That's... _our_... kiss," Kevin pants, his wounded eyes now turning to me. "How could you do this with Mike? It's just not right, not right at all..."

Harry's eyes are now on me and he's frowning, I think, as he holds his nose to stop the bleeding. "You and Artie kissed like this?" He stands up slowly, wincing in pain. "Not cool, Tina. I don't appreciate recycled dates. I'm gonna have to think about this..."

I can tell that Harry's really pissed off, and for good reason since Kevin just clobbered him. But he's still calling me Tina and acting like Mike and I'm wondering what I missed. I helplessly watch him stalk off in the opposite direction.

"Are we doing another Members Project spot?" I suddenly arrive at this conclusion when I hear Harry mention recycling. I'm afraid to confess that our recent marathon of filming has left me clueless as to what we're rehearsing right now. I don't want everyone to think I've lost my mind.

But Kevin isn't really paying attention to me. I turn to see that he's working hard to rearrange his feet and move himself back up to the chair, his upper body doing all the work. I've never seen Kevin fake a wheelchair transfer before, and he does it _very_ convincingly. He really looks like he doesn't have the use of his legs. I'm about to open my mouth and make a comment, but I'm interrupted by the sound of feet slapping against the floor. The sound's coming from the other end of the hall.

"Tina, there you are," says Lea, appearing out of breath and flustered as she steps out of the shadows. I glower darkly back at her when she calls me by my character's name. Everyone's taking this little game a bit far, I think, particularly Harry and Kevin. I'm about to say something, but before I can utter a word, Lea's grabbing me by the hand and pulling me along with her. "Hurry, come with me…"

She doesn't even acknowledge Kevin, and he scowls at us as he watches her steal me away. He's still preoccupied, however, with positioning his feet in the footrests of his chair. His feet still haven't moved.

"Wait a second, Lea, where are we…?"

"SHHHH!" Her face is panic-stricken as she turns to shush me, putting her finger to my lips. I obediently clam up as she continues to drag me down the hall, away from Kevin. When we're safely out of earshot, she practically pins me against the locker.

"Jenna," she says, finally breaking character. I'm overcome with relief, but Lea doesn't give me a chance to speak. "You absolutely cannot tell anyone who you really are, do I make myself clear? You must call me _Rachel_. And you've got to refer to Kevin as Artie and Harry as Mike and you absolutely cannot reveal your true identity to _anyone _or we'll both risk exposure!"

"… Lea, you're scaring me."

"Listen up and listen carefully," she says, leaning over me and lowering her voice as she checks to make sure no one is around to overhear. "I'm _not_ Lea. I'm Rachel Berry. But I _know_ you're not Tina Cohen-Chang. You're Jenna Ushkowitz, the actress who plays Tina as a fictional character in a parallel universe. But here, in _this _universe, what you know to be the hit show _Glee_ isn't a show at all. It's real life. And just like before, you've been brought here for a reason…"

"L-like… like before?" I'm stuttering and it sounds nothing like Tina's fake one because I'm legitimately stumbling over my words, trying to make sense of what Lea (I mean, Rachel) is telling me.

Lea-Rachel snaps her fingers. "Ah, but you don't know anything about it, of course! It's Tina who already knows all about it. You see, Jenna, back when you were filming season one, Artie and Kevin swapped bodies, too. Tina was incredibly jealous when she found out. Artie spent some time in your world and Kevin came here to us. It took us awhile to uncover the reason for it all, but we finally realized it was so that Kevin could get firsthand experience at being a paraplegic before filming for the back nine began. He was gonna need it when it came time to film 'Dream On,' afterall."

"This is like a science fiction movie…" I mutter, still having difficulty believing what I was being told. "So, if I'm _here_, then Tina's…"

"Probably thrilled to be getting her turn at last!" Rachel finishes my sentence smugly, clapping her hands with delight.

"Why do you know what's going on?" I want to know.

She smirks again. "Haven't I told you all I'm a little bit psychic?"

I'm still trying to swallow this, and Rachel can see that I'm struggling. She encourages me to sit down and then produces a cold bottle of water for me from her book bag. She pats my leg and assures me that Artie and Mike are going to be just fine. I'm too busy fretting over the way my life has turned into a science fiction novel to worry about Artie and Mike at the moment. But something tells me they're the whole reason I'm here.

I just don't know what I, Jenna Ushkowitz, can do about it.


	2. Tevin

_Tina_

I've been having this reoccurring dream about Artie dancing in the mall with a huge crowd of people for awhile now. It's weird because I don't even know the song, which sounds like something straight out of the 80's (and before my time), but it's always the same one. Mike's even a part of the crowd.

A pounding sound interrupts my dream. In the dream, it's the sound of several hundred sets of feet. In real life, it's a knock at the door. I nearly fall to the floor as I wake up.

As my eyes flutter open, I find myself in what looks to be a trailer. Various accessories – my veiled hats, my fingerless gloves, and my clunky jewelry – are haphazardly surrounding me in organized piles. This looks a bit like my room at home, and while some people would call me sloppy, I prefer the term 'organized chaos.'

My visitor pounds on the door again as I push myself to a seated position. I discover the reason why I almost fell to the floor. Instead of resting comfortably in my queen sized bed, I'm on a couch. A chill runs down my spine when I suddenly realize that I don't know where I am, don't know how I got here, and can't even recall falling asleep in the first place. I find myself wishing I had a blunt, heavy object to carry with me to the door. I haven't got a clue who could be visiting, but I hear them call out a name.

"Jenna?"

That's not _my_ name, but I do think that I know that voice. It sounds an awful lot like Artie's voice on the other side of the door. I clamber to my feet and trudge to the door, surveying my attire on the way there. I don't remember these sweats or this tank top. Another shiver. I stub my toe on the way to the door.

"Artie?" I call out, cautiously, as I limp the rest of the way. I don't dare to open the door right away. I need confirmation that I do, in fact, know the person on the other side. If Artie knows how I got here, then he's got a lot of explaining to do.

"Uh, yeah," he says, chuckling a bit, and now I'm sure that it's Artie. I breathe a sigh of relief and fling the door open to find him… standing there. I do a double take. My toe's still throbbing so I know I can't be dreaming. And yet, there he is. Standing.

"Artie, I… you're…"

The world's become hazy now as I stumble back. I hear him yelp out in alarm as he rushes forward to catch me. The world goes dark as I collapse into his arms.

_We can dance if we want to. We can leave the old friends behind. 'Cause your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance, well then they're no friends of mine._

As Artie dances alongside Brittany, Mercedes, Mike and Matt, something cold touches my face. Something cold and wet. My eyes flutter open again and I'm back on the couch. Artie's sitting next to me dabbing a cold washcloth on my head. I prop myself up on my elbows, scanning the room for his wheelchair. I shudder when I realize it's nowhere in sight. And there are other differences, besides the lack of wheelchair, between Artie Abrams and the person mopping my clammy forehead. For one thing, he's got on shorts and a tank top with bright green high tops. It's totally not an Artie outfit, not even close.

And then I remember.

"K-Kevin?"

He smiles like we're old friends. In a way, we sort of are. "So, it's your turn now," he muses, giving me a mock punch on the shoulder and a goofy grin that looks like Artie's. "Nice to see you again, Tina. On the other side now, I guess? So, what brings you here?"

"No idea," I say, massaging my temples. I'm still a bit dizzy from passing out, but at least I'm beginning to wrap my brain around the situation. "But it _is_ great to see you again…"

He leans in to hug me and I return the gesture. It's been nearly a year since I last saw Kevin. After the shock of having a visitor from a parallel universal wore off, I'd learned to like Kevin. But when he returned to his world and Artie came back to mine, I guess I allowed myself to forget about that little paranormal encounter.

"So, you and Artie broke up," he points out, as I duck my head and blush a little. He lifts up his baggy tank top and pretends to scrutinize his belly. "Yeah, he can't do much about the abdominal muscles, now can he? Not when he's being played by a skinny fellow like me…"

"You're giving me that puppet-on-a-string feeling again," I say, with a shudder. I don't like to think about the implication of being a mere work of fiction in their world. I also don't like that Kevin knows absolutely _everything _that's happened. Some of those things were personal...

"Sorry, I'll try not to do that," he says, sincerely, rising to his feet. I gape at him as he strides casually across the room. When I last saw Kevin, he was in Artie's body, which meant he had to stay in the chair. Now I'm watching him move around freely and it's as if I'm watching Artie unhindered by his physical challenges. Unable to resist, I hop to my feet and run up to him. Before I know what I'm doing, my arms are wrapped around his body and I'm hugging him tightly.

Kevin is slightly taken aback, but he seems to know why I'm suddenly clinging to him. "I think he'd like to hug you this way too…" He pulls back to smile down at me. He's just slightly taller, which is something Artie and I noticed back when he held himself upright on a pair of crutches.

I hang my head slightly as I lower myself back on the couch. I should be fretting over getting back home, but all I can think about is my shattered relationship with Artie. "I do miss him."

"I figured," says Kevin, with a shrug. "When you asked him to be duet partners so that the two of you could have a nice dinner and talk… I figured that really meant you wanted him back."

"I'm with Mike now," I protest, albeit weakly.

"If Artie knew about the two of you making out in the science lab, it'd kill him. Y' know that, right?"

"He's busy," I scoff.

"What, with _Brittany_?"

I don't know what to make of his tone as he says her name. He almost seems to be mocking the idea of Artie and Brittany, which makes me curious. I narrow my eyes in scrutiny. "How much do you know?"

"I don't know how this all ends up if that's what you're asking," he tells me, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "But I think that might be why you're here. Maybe – and I've suspected this all along – Ryan and the writers don't really know how this ends up either. Perhaps they're letting the story write itself."

"Maybe," I say, lying back on the couch and closing my eyes to meditate on what's just happened, to take it all in. "Artie told me that Rachel. I mean, not Rachel, I mean…"

"Lea," he supplies.

"Lea," I repeat. "After Artie came back from his trip to your world, he told me that Lea says we're still in charge of our own destinies. The writers of your show don't decide what happens, _we _do. Maybe, since I couldn't choose between Mike and Artie on my own, Jenna's supposed to go to my world and choose for me?"

"Who says it's up to Jenna to do the leg work?" Kevin asks, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Maybe you and I can convince them to let us change an episode. I just got the script for episode nine, and I don't like it. Things don't look good for Tina and Artie. What if we –"

"Hold up," I say, putting up a hand to stop him. "I never said anything about _definitely _wanting to get back together with Artie."

Kevin frowns as if I've just put a major kink in his big plan. "Jen - I mean, Tina..." he trails off, giving me that hurt puppy dog look that Artie's so good at. "What do you _mean _you're not sure? Is it really because of the abs?"

I heave a huge sigh, falling back on the couch cushions. I won't justify that questions with an answer. Instead, I close my eyes and think of the Wizard of Oz. "There's no place like home," I mutter. _Please let me go home._


	3. Jartie

_Jenna_

"Wait, Rachel, don't go!" I say, stopping her as she flounces down the hallway, carefree as if visits from a parallel universe are just another day in the life. I, on the other hand, am feeling quite burdened. She turns and fixes me with a quizzical expression.

"Did you need anything else?"

"I…" It's hard to know where to begin, but I do have one lead and he's probably wheeling around the hallway at top speed right now, fuming over his encounter with Mike. "I need to tell Artie!" I blurt.

Her eyes narrow as she presses her lips together tightly. "I didn't think about that," she says. "Artie's been to your world so it wouldn't come as a complete shock, now would it? Though I'd really prefer if you could stay completely anonymous. I'm not so sure I trust Artie as much as I did before. He's not the same kid from season one, you know?"

Kevin and I have had this very discussion many, many times. "Yeah, why do you think that is?"

"Love does strange things to people," Rachel replies, matter-of-factly. "If you think we can risk it, if you really believe we can trust Artie now… then fine. I'll allow it."

I was going to tell him with or without her permission but I silently figure that this way is easier. After giving me her blessing, Rachel shoots me a thumbs-up and disappears again. As her footsteps grow softer and softer, I can hear another sound. The clicking in the distance can only be one thing. I take off in the direction of the noise, not knowing where I'm going. McKinley High School looks nothing like the set, which is all pieced together to look like a school. Instead, it's an _actual _school, large and maze-like. I'd surely be lost if I were left to navigate it on my own. But luckily, I find what I'm looking for quickly.

"Artie!" He pretends not to hear me at first, and I figure that if I'm going to come clean, it's now or never. I don't know where Mike's gone, but I can't worry about him right now. I cup my hand around my mouth and call out, "It's… it's Jenna!"

That gets his attention. He pulls back on his wheels and pivots quickly, his jaw dropping as he stares at me. "Jenna?" I swallow hard and nod. "I'd almost… _forgotten_…" he says, softly as though talking to himself. He's rolling towards me now, slowly and looking like he's seeing a ghost. I tug at the sleeve of Tina's gothic black lace dress self-consciously and play with a strand of my hair as he pierces me with those bright blue eyes.

"You could forget a thing like that?"

He's shaking his head as though he's trying to make sense of it, too. "Until I heard your name…" he says, eerily. "It was like it didn't happen. And now I remember everything! Going to that award show… meeting Lea and Mark…"

"What award show?" There have been a lot of those. After awhile, they start to run together, and so do the interviews and the photo shoots. But I'm curious to know when Artie paid us a visit.

He squints like he's still trying to remember. "There was something… something weird. Oh, wait, I remember! We passed out pizza. To the audience. It was kind of corny, I had to announce it…"

I snap my fingers. "Peoples' Choice!" That was shortly before the Golden Globes, which were a much bigger deal. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about Kevin's behavior at the Peoples' Choice Awards. "You… you sure acted a lot like Kevin," I tell him.

"Lea sort of coached me," he admits. "She's got this _connection_ to Rachel, I think. Kind of like the one I had with Kevin. It was only temporary, but for a little while, I could hear his thoughts. I think it helped him to understand me better. Hey, can you –?"

"No, I can't hear Tina's thoughts," I tell him.

He looks disappointed. "Well, I couldn't hear Kevin right away either," he says, still hopeful it seems. "Let me know if you hear from her. I want to know what she thinks of your world. I want to know if she's slow dancing with Kevin right now, pretending it's me…"

Oh, _wow_. My heart drops to my knees when he says this. He acts casual about it, but I can hear the longing in his voice. Brittany may have been a nice distraction from his pain, but he still wants Tina back.

"Sorry she dumped you," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and kneeling next to his chair so that I can look into his eyes. As I let my hand drop, he catches it in his. Kneeling there, holding his hand, I'm reminded of the final scene between Tina and Artie during 'Dream On,' the scene right before our performance of 'Dream a Little Dream.'

"It's kind of my fault." He smiles, sadly. "What do you think, Jenna? Is Tina supposed to be with Mike or… or me?"

I don't answer right away. I think about Mike and Tina's duet, the undeniable joy that filled the room when the pair sang. When Harry and I filmed it, I thought I saw something like real jealousy in Kevin's face. That, or he's just an excellent actor…

Artie nods slightly as I hesitate. "Makes sense that you'd be confused," he says. "Tina seems confused, too. She seemed confused when she asked me to be her duet partner. I admit that I was feeling really bitter when she asked, plus I was kind of smug about Brittany asking me to be _her_ partner. I was probably meaner than I should've been."

"Y'think?"

"Well, she shouldn't have thrown Mike and his abs in my face!" Artie scowls resolutely.

"I don't think she did that on purpose," I argue, unable to resist sticking up for Tina. There's a small part of Tina that's based on me. Consequently, I feel sort of protective of her. And if she's criticized for something that happens on the show, I've always got to defend her.

Artie falls silent at this and so do I. Strangely, I feel as though I've wronged him, even though _I'm_ not Tina. I'm not responsible for her actions; I merely depict them on a show.

"So, what are you missing while you're here?" Artie wants to know. "Does Tina get to walk down any red carpets while she's away?"

I struggle to remember. Our schedule has been crazy busy, like always, filming in between photo shoots and various talk shows and appearances. Kevin's lined up for an appearance on the Tonight Show. I don't have any major gigs for myself coming up, which is a shame since I'm sure Tina would enjoy something like that.

"Just… filming episode nine."

"What happens?" Artie asks me, hesitantly, as if he's a bit fearful of knowing. I don't blame him. If someone were able to tell me what was going to happen to me in the near future, I'd be a bit wary of their answer too.

"Artie sees Tina and Mike racing wheelchairs and kissing in the hall and gets jealous," I reply, frankly.

"Check," he replies, with a look of trepidation. He nods expectantly, silently urging me to continue. I consider, but shake my head.

"I'm not sure how much more I can tell you." He looks disappointed so I pat his leg reassuringly before I remember that he's not Kevin, he's Artie. He can't feel that. "Because it's just a script, it isn't set in stone until we film it. And even then, parts get edited out after everything's been filmed."

Artie grows more and more anxious, visibly evident by the way he's been wringing his hands ever since he asked me to tell him what I knew of the show's future, his future.

"I want her back," he says. "I want Tina. I tried to convince myself that maybe I could be with another girl, that maybe I wanted Brittany. But instead, it just solidified the fact that there's only _one_ girl for me."

I sigh and squeeze his hands, still kneeling beside his chair. "If you'd told her _that_, Artie…"

"Help me get her back, Jenna."

More silence. I can't promise him anything because I don't really know if I can do that to Mike. He's been a really great boyfriend. He's cute and funny and so what if he likes chicken feet in salad? He and Tina have undeniable chemistry, too.

"I thought you said you were sorry she dumped me!"

"I'm sorry for how it happened," I correct myself. "I'm sorry you got hurt in the process. But I don't think I _can_ help you, Artie. I think the two of you are supposed to work this out yourselves."

He scoffs, crossing his arms in front of his body insolently. "And how am I supposed to do that when she's in your world and you're in mine?"

Oops. Good question.


	4. Both Sides Now

**A/N:** Tartie shippers, are you still out there? :-/ I see tons of Quartie fics these days, but hardly any for our beloved Tartie! If you are reading, please review. I'd like to get this done before the real episode nine comes out, but I'll need lots of support! Thanks so much to those who reviewed previously.

* * *

_Tina_

I'm still recovering from nearly passing out at the sight of "Artie" walking. The shock of waking up in a new body still hasn't worn off. (Granted, it's a body identical to my own.) And then Kevin hits me with the news that he was coming to my trailer to tell me that it was time to film a scene.

"I… I don't know my lines!" I cry, finding it ironic that I would have this problem, seeing as my lines wouldn't really be lines at all if I were in my own world. They would just be, I don't know, words?

"Relax, this is the big dance number," he tells me. "You just have to lip sync to the track of yourself singing and it's…"

"A wheelchair number," I supply, realizing that I _do _know what I'm doing because this is the number we've been practicing in Glee this week. Due to several meetings for special education students in his Spanish class, Mr. Schuester informed us that he'd been thinking about doing another wheelchair number. Artie and the rest of us were denied the opportunity to properly showcase our last number.

"You should be able to fool them just fine," he says, patting me on the shoulder reassuringly and smiling crookedly, just like Artie does. "You just have to play Jenna… playing yourself. This should be easy, right?"

This should be easy, I tell myself as I jump to my feet. This should be easy, I continue to repeat in my mind as I follow Kevin to the set. This should be easy, I think, as Kevin briefs me on the actors' names. I find the auditorium littered with people, lights, and cameras as members of the crew run here and there. _This should be easy. _Why is it that the more I tell myself this, the less I believe myself?

The first cast member we come across is Lea as she's getting her makeup done. As soon as her face is retouched, she's running towards us with an excited expression that can only mean she knows about my secret identity. "So excited to meet you," she says, keeping her voice low enough that Kevin and I are the only ones who hear her.

I'm about to respond when the make up artist approaches me, urging me to get my costume on so that she can touch me up, too. Kevin and I are rushed backstage to our dressing rooms where our wardrobe is waiting for us. I giggle when I find myself dressed head to toe in black and white, complete with a tucked-in sweater vest and a belt.

As I'm stepping out of the girls' dressing room into the narrow hall, Kevin's stepping out of the guys' room. I do a double take to find him looking like Artie, if Artie were able to stand up. He's wearing an ensemble identical to mine, except that I've got on a flared black skirt instead of the black slacks he's sporting. He's even swapped the frames on his glasses, I notice, and the ones he's got now are identical to Artie's.

"Pretty cute, Kev," I say, gesturing for him to do a little twirl. But suddenly, Kevin's whole demeanor has changed. He's staring in bewilderment at his legs and takes careful steps now, as if testing the stability of his legs. He touches his thighs over his pant legs and raises his eyes to look at me, an overwhelmed expression etched all over his face. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I realize what's happened.

"Tina?"

I swallow hard. "Artie?"

"Jenna and I were headed to the auditorium," he explains, licking his lips nervously, his eyes darting from side to side. "We were gonna rehearse the new number for Glee club and I was gonna find Mike Chang to apologize for making his nose bleed. I was just sitting down backstage in my chair, changing clothes, and all of a sudden, my… my legs began to tingle. I closed my eyes and lay down on the bench. When I opened my eyes again, I could feel everything again. So I just…. stood up."

"So… so now we're both here?"

"Looks that way to me." Artie continues to stare at his legs. After a moment, he goes back into the dressing room. He returns pushing his wheelchair, having remembered that he needs it for the number. The sight of it empty brings tears to my eyes as I look from it to him. His expression changes again.

"I've spent so long thinking about what I'd do if I could just get up out of the chair," he says, longingly, and I wonder why that sounds so familiar. He pushes the chair aside and approaches me with determination. In one quick motion, he sweeps me up and then dips me back. "And that was it."

"I…" Speechless, that's what I am. "Artie, if we're both here, that means Kevin and Jenna are in our world on their own. Well, not totally on their own, I guess they've got Rachel but…"

"They'll be fine," Artie cuts me off, and it could not be clearer that he's completely unconcerned about Kevin and Jenna. Nor does he seem bothered by the fact that they'll charged with the task of pacifying Mike.

"We should tell Lea," I say. "She and Rachel knew everything when it happened before, right? Maybe they know how to switch us back. Maybe they –"

"No!" Artie exclaims. We both fall silent then as Puck stride past us in the hall, looking comical in his own Artie ensemble, pushing his own empty wheelchair. "Hey… hey Mark." I'm glad Artie remembers the actor's name because I've forgotten it already. Mark jerks his head up in acknowledgement of us and keeps going.

"No," he says as soon as Mark's out of earshot again. "I don't care when we're going back. I want to stay as long as I can. I'd stay forever if I could. Think about it, Tina. We're not losers here. We're big stars, big _famous_ stars. And I can… walk. I'm in no hurry to get back to being a Lima Loser, are you?"

"I remember what you told me, Artie," I say, with a deep sigh. "Before, when it happened the first time, when you said it was a lot to lose…"

_"I really can deal with being back in my wheelchair,"_ he'd told me. _"I meant that what we have, our awesome friendship, that's a lot to lose. You, Tina. You're the best thing in my world, and being in a world without you was awful. You're a lot to lose."_

"And now I don't have to lose you to gain all of this," he says, with a grin. "I can have you and I can walk."

"But I'm still dating Mike in our world." That's one big obstacle he fails to consider. I'm not sure I want to be Tina-and-Artie again, to be back in a relationship with him. It's been nice being my own person, without some guy telling me how I ought to dress or calling me 'woman.'

"Wouldn't it be different if I could walk?"

I can't believe what he's asking.

"No," I say, indignantly. "It wouldn't. You really think I'm that shallow? You really think I dumped you just because I found a guy with great abs who happened to be a terrific dancer?"

"It doesn't make you shallow," he argues. "It makes you human. Look, I'll take it a lot better if you'll just be honest and straightforward with me. It was because you couldn't deal with the chair anymore, isn't it? Well, guess what? Problem solved. No more chair."

As if to prove his point, he shoves it to the side.

"I liked you better _in _that chair," I say. "I told you before. I dumped you because you were a bad boyfriend and you ignored me all summer…"

I'm so frustrated that I feel like screaming at him, but Dianna Agron will hear me. She's just stepped out of the restroom and into the hall to get a drink from the water cooler. I lower my voice.

"You just don't get it, Artie."

He opens his mouth to speak but then closes it again. Remarkably, I've left him speechless for once. I glance over my shoulder as I leave him standing there. He looks hurt, but he's hurt me too. I'm not sorry. This isn't my fault.

What's happened to the guy I once fell in love with?


	5. Offbook

_Kevin_

One minute, I was backstage, preparing to change into my costume and shoot the big wheelchair number. I'd taken a seat in the wheelchair while buttoning up my shirt. That was when it started. My legs began to tingle as the feeling left them. After making an unsuccessful attempt to stand, I realized what was happening. Feeling strangely dizzy, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I wasn't backstage anymore. Instead, I found myself in front of McKinley High School, sitting on cold pavement and positively freezing to death as the sun began to set.

So now here I am, leaning back on my hands for support, a pair of lifeless legs stretched out in front of me. And despite knowing that it's happening again, I still can't believe _it's happening again._

Just call me Artie Abrams.

Mike Chang pulls all his might as I watch Artie's wheelchair go up the flag pole. I knew it was coming, of course, having read the script. I just didn't expect to witness the act firsthand and without a director and cameras. I consider Artie's reaction as I watch Mike display his chair atop the flag pole for the world to see. In the script, Artie's supposed to look kind of pathetic during this part. I must admit, I get a little tired of Artie playing the victim. I'm so over Artie looking pathetic. So since _I'm _Artie now, I decide he's going to react differently today…

Placing my hand over my heart solemnly, I begin to recite the pledge. "I pledge allegiance to the wheelchair of the United State of Ohio…"

Mike glances over his shoulder and arches an eyebrow. The fierce scowl he's been wearing since he found me falters, and for just a moment, he looks like he might actually laugh.

"Shut up, Abrams," he replies, scowling harder than before to cover his moment of weakness. I can see that Mike Chang isn't really the type of guy to do this. This is totally out of character for Mike. Harry and I even told Ian that when we read it in the script.

"And to the republic, for which it rolls…"

"Can it."

"… One nation, under wheels, indivisible…"

"If you're trying to make me laugh, Abrams, it's not going to work."

"… with liberty and wheelies for all," I conclude.

Mike snorts. Success!

Despite my frustration, I grin stupidly at him. To my surprise, he smiles back. In the script, Artie's supposed to lash out at Mike for stealing his chair. I happen to think this works better, and it appears that Mike agrees. We're deviating from the script in a pretty major way, but I can't be bothered to worry about that. I know I need to help Artie. It's got to be why I'm here…

"I can't do this," he says, staring up at the wheelchair. He begins bringing it back down, shooting me a guilty look at he does so. "This is more like something Azimio and Karofsky would do. Revenge's not really my thing… even though you totally deserve it…"

"You're right."

"I am?"

"Revenge isn't your style," I continue. "And I _did _deserve it. Mike, look, I'm sorry. No matter how I feel about her, I have to accept that she's yours now and she's free to kiss you… even take you on wheelchair racing dates in the hallway…"

Mike's untying the chair now and I can see that he's not completely insensitive. In fact, I wonder why _all_ of the jocks seem to have a sensitive side. All except for Azimio. He remains one-dimensional for the time being.

"… But you're right," he finally says. "I can see why it upset you, dude. I'd feel the same way if Tina dumped me and recycled our dates. If some guy took Tina out for dim sum, I'd be pissed off. It's… kind of our thing."

"And that's great," I say, encouragingly. I'm beginning to see why Tina feels torn between Mike and Artie. Mike's a great guy, too. He treats Tina well, and he seems to be trying to get along with Artie, even if Artie usually resists.

I make up my mind that I'm going to change what happens between Artie and Mike. I mean, so what if it's not in the script, right? What's the worst that can happen?

I'm pretty pleased with myself as Mike helps me back into the wheelchair. It's harder than I ever dreamed to get from the ground to the wheelchair. If Mike is surprised that I need so much help, well, he doesn't mention it. I'm feeling good about my little rewrite as he's pushing me back to the school. Mike's texting "Tina" to find her so that we can both apologize for acting like idiots. I'm worried, armed with the knowledge that "Tina" is really Jenna right now, that she might panic over being left alone.

Mike's plan changes when we're intercepted on our way to his car. Rachel Berry is inexplicably still hanging out at school after hours. I'm working on a theory that she sleeps in the choir room on those mattresses now. Anyway, she's storming up to us now, an annoyed but determined look on her face. Pretty much her normal look, now that I think about it…

"What are you doing here?" Mike wants to know.

"CUT!" she yells.

Much to my utter astonishment, Mike Chang freezes in place behind my chair. His mouth is slightly open, he's pointing at Rachel, and his eyes are jarringly empty. A chill runs down my spine and causes me to shudder as I turn from Mike back to Rachel and mouth something that I wouldn't be able to say aloud on a cable show.

Ignoring my reaction, she cuts right to the chase. "Kevin, you've gone off-book too early," she informs me, hastily.

"Yeah, so?" I straighten up to my full height (which isn't very high) indignantly and scowl at her. "What am I even doing back here? 'Cause quite frankly, Freaky Friday is getting pretty old."

'You're here to…" Rachel looks puzzled for a moment, wringing her hands apprehensively "… to fix things between Artie and Tina."

"How?" I immediately challenge this notion. "By sticking to the script?"

For once, Rachel Berry doesn't have a comeback. She narrows her eyes at me, but then shakes her head. "I guess not," she finally admits. "But it makes me nervous to… to think that I don't know what's going to happen. You see, it all went dark as soon as you changed the script. I can't even see what Tina and Artie are doing right now…"

"Tina and Artie? _You can see them?"_

She sighs. "Past tense, Kevin, I _was_ able to see them until you and Mike Chang here decided to become best pals. Now my third eye is blind." Rachel pats Mike on the shoulder, but he still doesn't budge an inch. I shudder again.

"Making an enemy out of Mike isn't going to help Artie get her back."

"A valid point, McHale."

Another theory comes to mind and, feeling lead by intuition, I decide to test it on Rachel. "… And something tells me that isn't up to me to get them back together. I feel like it's got to be Tina and Artie who decide if they really want to be together. Not us, not the writers, not even the fans. I mean, they're the ones who live with whatever happens…"

Now Rachel looks kind of impressed.

"Kevin, I still think he wants your help," she tells me. "And I think you know where to start. I'll um, leave you to contact him now. Oh, and when you're ready to carry on with Mike, just say the a-word."

"The _a-word?"_

Rachel rolls her eyes and mouths it. Oh, right. I feel kind of stupid as I nod my head. She smiles and waggles her fingers at me before turning and heading back into the school. I'm not quite sure why she's hanging out alone in the school _at night_, but I figure the psychic can take care of herself. Surely her inner eye would alert her of any danger.

I glance at Mike and realize that he's not moving anytime soon. It's kind of like looking at one of those wax figures from Madame Tussaud's.

_Uh, Artie? Come in Artie. _

_Dude, there you are,_ I hear him say at last. _This is incredible, man. I'm outside on the track running laps. I've almost done two miles. I'm too excited to even be tired._

_That's great, _I think, trying to be encouraging. I don't know how to tell the guy that he needs to get the job done and come back home to his non-functioning legs. _Uh, so Artie, I think you're supposed to get Tina back. Now that you're both together in my world, maybe you ought to stop running laps and go work on that._

There's a pause.

_Tina doesn't want me back._

_I think she does._

_Well even if she does, too bad, _he replies, to my complete disbelief and horror. _What about Dianna? She seems to like you. She came to talk to me just now. Well, I mean, she came to talk to you._

Now it's my turn to pause and collect my thoughts. It doesn't take me long to realize that Artie's decided he prefers my life to his. The question remains, how long _is _he staying this time? Is there a chance this switch could be permanent? I don't want to think about it.

_Don't mess with my life, Artie._ The telepathic message I'm sending him now is meant to come across as threatening so I hope that he gets the gist.

What follows is the longest pause yet. As I stare into Mike's empty eyes and wait, I realize that Artie's not going to answer this time. I sigh heavily, realizing that it's not going to be so easy this time.

"Action."


	6. A World Without Breadstix

A/N: Totally kidding about the dig at the end, Quartie shippers. Don't hate. ;)

* * *

_Artie_

I finally stop running when a side stitch slows me down. I put my hands over my head and take deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. It feels so incredible to run until I'm worn out.

I had to wait for this at first because I was immediately told, upon arriving in Kevin's world, that it was time for us to film the wheelchair number. This meant that, despite having a fully-functioning lower body, I was forced to sit back down in my chair and pretend that I couldn't walk. The director, whoever he was, would occasionally call out, "Legs still, Kevin!" I kept forgetting that Kevin was supposed to portray me, and my feet wouldn't be tapping along with the beat. I kind of sucked at playing myself. I was relieved when they finally let me leave.

"Kevin!" a girl's voice calls out, and I'm stunned to see Dianna waving at me from the side of the track. She must've followed me outside after we finished filming. After the wheelchair number wrapped, I decided to change back into Kevin's clothes and find a suitable place to run. I'd come across the football field that they must've used to film all of our games. Ever since Coach Beiste put me on the team, I've been longing to run laps like the rest of the players do.

"Hey," I say, jogging over to her, despite the pain in my side. She smiles sweetly at me from the other side of the fence.

"Game night at Cory's tonight," she replies, and it takes me a second to mentally translate the name in my mind. She means Finn, of course, and I grin at her.

"Sounds great!"

"You're pretty fast, Kevin," she comments, beaming back at me. "I didn't know you liked to run. Maybe we should run together sometime. I get up early and run most days, you know…"

"Sounds great," I say again. It's hard to say more than that when I feel like I'm talking to Quinn Fabray. But her hair is down and she's wearing pink sweat pants, a softer look than I'm accustomed to seeing. In an instant, I can tell that Dianna is nothing like Quinn. At least, she's not like Quinn _this _season. Maybe she's a bit more like Quinn at her lowest point, towards the end of her pregnancy.

She laughs, waving at me before heading off in the opposite direction, towards several trailers lined up in the distance. "Oh, by the way, I think Jenna's looking for you," Dianna adds, calling over her shoulder. "You might have a few missed calls."

With a sigh, I fish Kevin's phone out of my pocket and turn the ringer on again. Sure enough, Kevin's missed some calls, or rather, _I _missed some calls. Tina's got Jenna's phone and she's trying to reach me. As I'm contemplating what to do next, I get another call. Only this call isn't on the phone. Someone's calling my head.

_Uh, Artie? Come in Artie. _

Turns out, it's Kevin, and turns out, we're still mentally linked somehow. He tries to convince me to work things out with Tina. I casually mention Dianna to him, and he goes ballistic. He warns me not to meddle around in his business, which I find terribly hypocritical. He and his people are all up in my business.

I find I've got the ability to tune him out, and I do just that. But then Kevin's phone starts ringing, playing that song I hear in this annoying recurring dream of mine: _"We can dance if we want to. We can leave the old friends behind…_" I hear myself sing.

I answer just to make it stop. "Yeah, what?"

She exhales loudly. "Nice, Artie, you and I are trapped in a parallel universe, and you're _still _ignoring me?" More than just frustration now, I can hear something like terror in her voice. It waivers as she speaks, and I get this twinge of guilt, thinking maybe I've really wronged her somehow.

"I'm not ignoring you," I say, indignantly. "I've been… running."

"Yeah?" she softens at this. "How does it feel?"

I hesitate. "Well, truthfully, I like running, but I don't like being alone in a parallel universe either…" Pride swells within me and I almost don't say it, but I know I need to see Tina. "… Look, how about you and me go get that dinner we talked about?"

"Does Breadstix exist in this world?" she wonders.

I draw in a sharp breath. Oh, surely it exists, I tell myself. Surely there has to be a chain of Breadstix restaurants in this world. Or, if not, at least a _similar_ Italian restaurant with never-ending salad bowls and all the bread you can eat? If that kind of thing doesn't exist here, then perhaps on second thought, I _do _want to go home…

An hour or so later, I'm getting ready to go to a place called _Olive Garden_. The website looks and sounds a lot like our beloved Breadstix. I just hope we aren't disappointed. Tina's going to be driving us since I don't know how. I throw together an appropriate date outfit from Kevin's closet. He's got a snazzy pair of pinstripe pants and a loose-fitting white shirt that looks decent, but not great. When I find his collection of bowties, however, the outfit looks considerably better.

Tina honks and I rush outside. She grins over at me as I climb into the passenger seat and I notice that she looks gorgeous in Jenna's silky dark blue dress, cinched at the waist with a flared skirt that falls to her knees. Her hair is pulled halfway back with curls falling in front of her face.

"Do we look like celebrities?" she giggles a little, her eyes twinkling with delight. I attempt to smile, but it's hard when I'm feeling guilt-ridden at the moment. I just can't help but feel a little guilty when I think about Brittany and Mike. The last date I went on was with Brittany, even though it was a double date to Breadstix with Puck and Santana that ended badly. And as for Mike, he's back in Lima, probably killing Kevin McHale for punching him in the face, oblivious to the fact that I'm taking his woman out on a date.

"We might have to sign a few autographs," I joke.

I guess the fact that we're in Los Angeles spares us from the autographs, but we do get a few surprised looks as we step into the restaurant, our arms linked. I catch a few people snapping pictures of us on phones. Meanwhile, Jenna stares straight ahead, her jaw clenched.

After I've pulled out her chair for her, she sits and leans across the table. She props up our menus in front of us, creating a privacy shield. "I wouldn't like getting attention like this all the time…"

"You don't notice after awhile," I say, with a shrug. Getting stares in public isn't really new to me. I have to say, I prefer being stared at for being famous to being stared at for being in a wheelchair. I'm drinking in the feeling of being a somewhat typical guy on a somewhat typical date.

Tina looks uneasy. "Still…" she murmurs, trailing off as our waiter approaches. I order the flavored tea, pleased to hear that they have the same selections as Breadstix. Tina seems to be thinking the same thing as she orders. We're relieved when our waiter announces that bread and salad will be out shortly.

"It _is _like Breadstix," says Tina, delighted. "Thank god."

"Sorry I never took you to Breadstix," I mumble, realizing that this is something of a failure on my part. In all the time I dated Tina, we never had a nice date. But in my defense, I couldn't really afford it at the time. (I couldn't afford until Puck and I made all that money singing at lunch.) Kevin's older than me, and he has a job.

"Mike never took me to Breadstix either, for what it's worth," she replies, with a shrug. "It was always dim sum with his mom…"

"That's so…" I trail off.

"Asian, I know," she says, rolling her eyes.

I've held my tongue for awhile. And if I did speak of their Asian Fusion, it was only to my trusted friend, Finn. I felt like Finn, after all he went through with Quinn last year, would understand me the most. But now with Tina, alone in a foreign world, I was tired of holding it all in.

"When you picked him to replace me as your dance partner, did you like him then?" It's a question I've wanted to ask for a long time now. I know I risk ruining a nice date by tackling the real issues, but I'm sick of running. Metaphorically, of course.

She's not offended as she answers. "I didn't like him until we went to Asian camp, Artie," she says. "I swear."

I let out a breath. "I feel… a lot better."

She smiles and reaches across the table. I feel myself smile back at her as I take her hand in mine, stroking the top of it with my thumb. It's a good thing those menus are there for our privacy, I think. I don't know anything about Jenna and Kevin, other than the fact that they play us, but something tells me they wouldn't want the world to think they were dating each other.

"I didn't know you thought that, Artie," Tina confesses. "For what it's worth… I'm really sorry if anything I said – you know, about Mike – if any of that hurt you…"

"I'm sorry I ignored you," I say, looking down at my lap, shame washing over me for what I'm going to confess. "I know you didn't dump me over… over my lack of abdominal strength or my dismal dancing. I know why."

She's shocked. "You do?"

I laugh. "Well, you _did _tell me flat out."

"I thought you weren't listening."

"Tina, I heard you," I insist, shaking my head. "I just… didn't want to hear you. But trust me, I heard you, loud and clear…" I wish this conversation could be a little easier. If only I could be a little less jittery and a little more relaxed. A thought enters my brain and I begin grinning as I realize that not only do I have Kevin McHale's credit card, I also have his ID…

"Excuse me, miss," I let go of Tina's hand to remove one of the menus as I flag down our waitress. "We changed our mind about the flavored teas. I'd like a… a glass of chardonnay and she wants…"

Tina's bewildered expression would've given us away if we weren't both legally of age in this world. She recovers, thankfully, and orders the same thing. I guess I'm not the only jittery one tonight.

"This feels so… bad ass," she whispers, after we've shown the waitress proof that we are twenty-four and twenty-two years of age in this world. A grin spreads across my face as I begin to remember exactly why Tina and I got on so well last year.

"Puck would be crazy jealous," I affirm.

We're interrupted by the arrival of our salad and breadsticks. They aren't _exactly _like the ones from the Stix, but they're close enough. Once our wine arrives, we both begin to relax. I stop worrying about why I'm here or how long I've got in Kevin's world. The only thing that matters is that I'm here, and she's here, and it feels like we've got a second chance.

My phone buzzes when Dianna texts to remind me about game night at Cory's. I remember what I said to Kevin earlier, but I don't know what I was thinking. Besides, how would Quinn and Artie ever work out? I don't even think before I respond back: _Thanks, D, but I'm busy tonight._

Tina and I have a date.


	7. Best Friends

Author's Note: This chapter is spoiler-ific, including details from next week's promo.

* * *

_Kevin_

I wonder, as I go to bed at Artie's that night, what the morning will bring. Will I wake up in my own body again? Or is there still more to be done before the swap can occur again? I only saw Freaky Friday once (the classic one, not the Lohan remake) so I'm not sure of the rules.

But I wake up the next day, still in Artie's body, and the part of me that isn't afraid of the switch being permanent is relieved. I still have time to do everything in my power to help Artie. I'm working on a plan.

Artie's dad takes me to school in their handicapable van and drops me off right in front of the school. As the ramp lowers the chair down to the asphalt, I've got an audience of McKinley students. A few of Artie's football teammates call out to him (me) as I roll forward. Others remain surly and aloof as they watch me wheel by. Karofsky is one of the standoffish ones, and I cringe to think that in Artie's life, he really _did _get knocked out of his wheelchair after trying to defend Kurt from this bully. He shoots me a dirty look, but I figure this is the extent of the bullying directed towards Artie. Karofsky and Azimio did say, afterall, that they wouldn't hit a kid in a wheelchair. Now that Puck and Artie are tight, I figure the kid's reasonably safe.

I take the ramp into the school and find myself just as lost as I was the first time this happened. The actual school is maze-like and large, nothing like our set. The counselor's office, for instance, doesn't open directly into Mr. Schuester's apartment. (I find that particularly humourous, by the way.)

Somehow, out of sheer luck, I pass in front of the choir room on my trip down the crowded hallway. Mercedes is singing and playing the piano. It hits me that I know how this is supposed to go. I'm supposed to talk to her, with all the sensitivity of a blunt axe, and Tina's supposed to listen in by the door. Tina then follows me down the hall to my locker and we have an… an altercation. There are parts of this scene that I like, but for the most part, it only further complicates things between Artie and Tina. Jenna agrees. If only we were allowed to write the script…

"_Troubled times  
Caught between confusions and pain, pain, pain  
Distant eyes  
Promises we made were in vain, vain, vain  
If you must go, I wish you love  
You'll never walk alone  
Take care my love  
Miss you love"_

"Hey, girl," I greet Mercedes, rolling into the choir room and stopping next to the piano when she pauses to correct a wrong note. "Journey, huh? Mr. Schuester's been influencing your song selections I see. How are you supposed to dip _that _in chocolate?"

She smiles, sadly. "It's the solo he wanted to give Kurt…"

"Hey, Kurt is happier," I say, patting her arm reassuringly. "That's what matters, right? And the rest of us guys don't have to worry about defending him now. For now, the locker room is safe again."

Mercedes glowers darkly at me. "Yeah, because he ran away," she scoffs. "After everything Blaine said to him about courage, he just ran. And the worst part is that he didn't even think about me. Not once did he even look back."

"What do you mean?" I recite my lines automatically, knowing instinctively that this isn't the part I need to change. That comes later. First order of business – offend Mercedes. Because offending girls is just what Artie does, that's him. "He's gay, Mercedes, why would he think about you?"

She seethes. "Not everything is about the dating game, Artie!" I can mentally count down the time I have left until Mercedes explodes. And sure enough, she rises from the bench as I cower slightly. "That's the problem with you _and _Kurt _and _every boy at this school. If you aren't trying to date a girl, you just treat her like her feelings don't even matter!"

"Uh… I just remembered I have to tutor Puck before school," I lie, just as I know Artie does during this scene, and wheel myself back a few paces. She rolls her eyes but nods before turning back to the piano. As I leave, I hear Mercedes belting out her next power ballad of the day, sure to be an iTunes chart topper by next week.

"_You and me  
We used to be together  
Everyday together always  
I really feel  
That I'm losing my best friend  
I can't believe  
This could be the end  
It looks as though you're letting go  
And if it's real  
Well I don't want to know."_

"Hell, yes, get it girl," I mutter to myself, smiling as I locate Artie's locker. The sound of Mercedes working her chocolate thunder into a No Doubt ballad fades away. And suddenly, Jenna is decked out as cheerleader!Tina and hovers in front of me.

"We have a big problem," says Jenna, acting her part convincingly. She doesn't crack a smile as she glares down at me. Her gothic cheerleading uniform, complete with 'GC' for Glee Club emblazoned across the megaphone, is even more hilarious than when I'd seen her wearing it during rehearsal.

"Is the problem your… outfit?"

She fumes quite credibly. "No," she says, in a measured tone. "I heard you talking to Mercedes. You've just done her more harm than good, Artie. Are you still that insensitive to what girls are feeling? Mercedes deserves kindness, but instead you were harsh. Well, enough. I'm not going to stand by and watch you do it to Brittany, too."

"Cut."

And this, I decide, is where we do a bit of rewriting.

"Excuse me?" Jenna falters, losing her composure as I deviate from the script. That's when she notices that time around us is standing still. Her jaw drops, along with the backpack she's carrying. "… How did you do that?"

"That's what Rachel did last night when Mike was sending Artie's wheelchair up the flag pole," I clarify, launching into a full explanation of what transpired last night. Jenna listens in amazement as I relay how I changed the script with the result of Artie and Mike actually being friendly with one another.

"It makes more sense anyway," Jenna comments. "Given how kind Mike was when he accidentally knocked Artie out of his chair after being pushed by Karofsky. Mike's kind of adorable that way…"

"I know, damn him," I joke.

"So, you changed Artie's reaction to Mike and… and now he and Artie aren't going to be fighting during episode nine?" Tina asks, cocking her head sideways. I nod proudly. "So… if Artie and Mike aren't fighting… do Tina and Artie still need to fight?"

"I've done some serious thinking about this," I say. "And I think… I think not. I mean, _think _about it. In 'Wheels,' Tina and Artie go from being friends to ignoring each other for awhile. So in this episode, why not have Tina and Artie go from ignoring each other to being friends for awhile? Doesn't that make the most sense?"

"More sense than Tina parading around as a glee club cheerleader," Jenna giggles, tossing her head from side to side and making the curly pigtails with the blue streaks bob comically. "I guess she wants Artie to notice her."

"You do look cute," I say. "Artie definitely noticed."

"I think Ryan's trying to indulge my request," Jenna retorts, doing a little curtsy. Dianna, Naya, and Heather tend to flit around in the Cheerio uniforms just like Jenna's doing now.

"Remember, in this world, Ryan isn't calling the shots," I remind her, feeling a surge of rebellion. "We're in charge. And we've got a friendship to fix. So, what do you say? Follow my lead?"

"Let's do it," Jenna agrees, amicably.

"Action!"

The world around us resumes its activity as though there were no interruption. I take a deep breath, hoping desperately that my plan will work. Everything I say and do now will leave its mark on their lives. I know that whatever happens next will have a lasting impact on the future of Tina and Artie. I only hope I do right by them.

"You're right, Tina," I say, contritely, bowing my head. "If there's one thing I learned from dating you, it's that I really don't know how to treat the ladies. How do I do this right?"

Jenna softens. "Respect Brittany," she breathes. "Listen to her. If she needs something, be sure to put her first, not yourself. And as for Mercedes, be sensitive to the fact that she misses her best friend. _We _have to be her best friends now. We're part of the original glee club. We have to stick together. To help her."

I nod importantly, but inwardly, I realize this isn't _quite _what I had in mind. In my mind, it doesn't take long for Tina to encourage Artie to dump Brittany and get back with her. And likewise, I'd imagined Tina dumping Mike immediately in favor of reconciliation with her first love.

And yet, I realize this will make them happier in the long run. If Tina and Artie eventually want to be more than friends, we'll leave that up to them. But for now, this is a good start.

I extend a gloved hand. "Friends?"

Jenna disregards my offer for a handshake but leans down for a hug instead. "Friends," she agrees. "C'mon, let's go catch Mercedes before the bell rings…"


	8. Second Chances

**_A/N: _**Thanks for the great reviews! To the person who asked me to show more of Tina's home life, I totally agree that this is something I need to explore in a story. I'm just not sure this is the right one for it since the focus is Tina and Artie. I know I did show a bit of Artie's in the first version. I have Artie's family figured out in my head, as do a lot of authors around here! In my mind, he's Arthur, Jr. and he's got his dad, Arthur, Sr., mom Charlotte, and older sister Amy. I don't have anything cooked up for Tina's family! But a future Christmas story I have in mind will require me to come up with something! I'm considering giving her a fun aunt with a wild streak.

Also, to the person who wanted me to go all McHalowitz with this story, I _am _trying to keep details about the real people in this story to a minimum. Mostly, this has been a story about how Jenna and Kevin try to help out Artie and Tina. But I totally agree that they are cute together! :)

We've just got one chapter left! Chapter NINE! I was hurrying all along, trying to get this written before episode nine. But I may wait until after and use whatever happens in next week's episode somehow. I'm not entirely sure yet. Stick with me and find out!

* * *

_Artie_

As luck would have it, Tina and I weren't scheduled for filming the next day. Naya, Cory, and Lea would be busy with a scene between Santana, Rachel, and Finn. That took care of Lea. For whatever reason, I just didn't want the one person besides Tina who knew my true identity hanging around. I'd skimmed the script out of curiosity to find out what was going down between Rachel, Santana and Finn during my day off. (All I can say is poor, poor, Finn.)

It was great not to spend the day pretending to be me, keeping my legs still and sitting in the chair. The wheelchair was somewhere on set today, far away from me. Cory would probably be rolling himself around all day. Apparently, the cast liked to play around in it between takes.

Interestingly enough, I made plans to spend most of my second day in Kevin McHale's able body… on wheels. I was able to borrow a couple of bikes, thanks to Lea, to take Tina out on the type of date I'd only been able to dream of before now.

"Tee- Jenna!" I call, banging on her door with the excitement of an eight-year-old boy who's just received a brand new toy. I _feel _kind of childlike, having never properly finished out my days of being a typical kid who loved riding bikes, running around, and climbing on things.

The door opens, slightly ajar. A bleary-eyed Tina gawks at me. "I figured we'd wake up in our own bodies again…" she murmurs, glancing over her shoulder at the clock on the microwave. "Artie! It's six-thirty!"

"I know," I say, excitedly. "I've been up for two hours, riding around on this bike Lea loaned me. I've got one for you, too. I figured six hours would be enough sleep for you so I waited until six-thirty."

"You've been up since…?"

"Four-thirty, yeah," I admit. "Who can sleep at a time like this?"

She smiles and holds up one finger, shutting the door so that she can change out of her pajamas. A few minutes later she reemerges in jeans and a grey hooded sweatshirt, looking positively stripped of her personality. She informs me that these are the types of outfits Jenna keeps around for down time.

"You look cute in anything," I say, pushing her bike forward.

She accepts the bike with a wry smile.

"Then why did you look at me like I had two heads when I wore an outfit like this to school after Figgins had a cow over my 'vampire' clothes?"

"Because," I reply. "You didn't look happy. You still looked cute, but you just looked unhappy. And I'd never seen you in anything that didn't double as a nice Halloween costume…"

For this, she slugs my arm. It's only then that I realize I've accidentally offended her. "_My stupid mouth_," I sing. It's a John Mayer song, one that my older sister once deemed appropriate for me after I told her that her hair looked better before she got it cut short.

My singing gets me off the hook this time as Tina smiles. "Lea came over to my trailer last night after you dropped me off to talk to me," she tells me. "She says that whenever they – the cast, I mean – really want a song on the show, they'll hint to the directors by singing it or humming it on set. I thought that was kind of funny since we do the same thing to Mr. Schuester."

"Hey, it's how you got to sing _True Colors_," I recall, as she smiles and nods. "Not a bad tactic, using subliminal messages…"

"So, are we going to race these?" she asks, swinging her leg over the bike with a nod to mine. I laugh and give one affirmative thumb up. Without a word, she pushes off the pedal, leaving me behind. I cry out in protest and begin pedaling after her furiously.

We leave the trailers behind and start across an empty parking lot. I don't know where our finish line is until Tina looks over her shoulder at me and cries out, "First one to the school bus wins!"

Sure enough, at the far end of the parking lot is the handicapable bus that we took to Sectionals last year. I pump harder on the pedals to overtake Tina. I touch the bus a fraction of a second before she does and pump my fists in celebration. We both stop to catch our breath, laughing and enjoying the surreal bliss of this moment. This happiness is only somewhat hindered by the knowledge that it can't last. If it were going to be forever, I would have stayed in Kevin's world the first time. There's no telling how much longer I've got. As Tina's laughter subsides, I can tell she's thinking the same thing I'm thinking.

"I'd love to do this all the time, Artie," she says, pedaling a bit closer to be as I lean my bike to one side, balancing on one foot. She reaches out and touches my shoulder. "I really admire you…"

"So I've heard," I say, with a slight grimace and a sinking feeling of déjà vu. "It's not really a quality to admire, Tee. It's not like I've got a choice in the matter. But it's nice to really find out what a normal date with you would be like."

"Let me be clear when I say this, Artie," she says, eyeing me seriously. "That was _never_ the issue. And if you don't believe me by now, I really don't know what more I can say to…"

"I believe you," I cut her off. "And look, I know that too much has happened for us to just go back in time. But you don't know how much I'd like to sometimes. Sometimes I wish that instead of being transported to Kevin's world, I could just go back in time to last summer. I'd do it all differently, Tee, I really would…"

"Artie, look, I'm with Mike now and you're with Brittany," she says, holding up a hand and stopping me in the midst of my earnest pledge. "I miss you, but I… I really like him now."

"And I think I like Brittany," I say, sighing slightly at the dilemma I've created. I don't want to think about hurting poor Brittany again. "I mean, I'm not entirely sure she's right for me, but… she's sweet and she seems to be into me."

Tina opens her mouth to say something, but apparently changes her mind and closes it. "What?" I press her, but she shakes her head and mumbles, "Nevermind, nevermind, it's none of my business…"

"Are you wondering if we had sex?"

Her eyes widen. "Actually, no, but did you?"

The John Mayer song pops back into my head. "Um, yeah," I say, staring down at my fully functional legs in shame. "But… I kind of wished it had been with you instead." My head jerks back up as another thought comes to mind. "Did… did you and Mike…?"

Tina bites her lip. "I asked, but he doesn't want to."

"_He _doesn't…?"

"He said it goes against his values, which I fully respect…."

"Or he's gay," I supply.

"_Artie._"

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

Tina smirks. "Artie Abrams, I can't believe you had _sex_."

"I still have the use of my –"

"I know, I know, you told me."

"Sacral sparing, my doctor calls it," I charge ahead, even though Tina looks like she wants me to just shut up now. "He said that sometimes happens, but that I wouldn't know just _how_ functional I was until I… actually did it. Really, I almost _didn't_ do it with Brittany, Tee, but I just wanted to know in case…"

I can't say the rest. I can't tell her,_ "In case you and me ever got back together and decided to have sex."_

The look on her face tells me she hears what I didn't say. The fact that the words never actually left my lips spares me a fair amount of humiliation. Letting the subject drop, I issue a challenge. "Race you back to your trailer!"

I take off ahead of her this time and allow her to beat me by slowing down as we approach the trailers. We ride around a bit more slowly after that, pacing ourselves as we circle the set. We only stop when our growling stomachs tell us it's time for breakfast. We head back to Kevin's trailer to eat whatever we can find in his pantry and small refrigerator. It's fully stocked with cereal, orange juice, and milk.

"Breakfast is on Kevin," I announce, as Tina makes herself comfortable on the small loveseat. As I pour cereal for us, she borrows Kevin's laptop and begins playing on the internet. When I approach the couch with her breakfast, she's pulled up a picture of Jenna and Kevin at some event.

"There are more like this," she murmurs. "These guys are really, really famous in their world. And it's all because they're on TV every week, pretending to be us. Crazy, huh?"

"I thought I was dreaming the first time Lea told me," I say, taking a seat next to her and balancing my bowl on my knees. "But walking never feels this real in my dreams."

She runs a hand across my shoulder, pausing to give it a squeeze. "I'm sorry," she says. (I never quite understand why Tina apologizes to me so much.) "I'm sorry you like his life better than yours."

"No, no, that's not it," I say, quickly, and my outburst is received with a puzzled look from Tina. "I mean, obviously I like certain things about his life better. But I don't envy him too much. I think he likes Jenna, but Jenna won't consider anything more than friendship since he's younger. That's my theory, anyway. But in _our _world, I'm older…"

She giggles. "By two months, big deal!"

"_And _I had my chance with you…" I go on. "But I blew it."

She smiles, softly. "Maybe there are second chances, Artie."

I close my eyes as she leans in for another kiss. The kiss is perfect, but there's just one problem. Well, two problems if you count Mike and Brittany as the second problem…

The first is that I can't feel my legs.


	9. Endgame

Author's Note: I tried not to rush, but on the other hand, I wanted to write as soon as inspiration hit. And, sure enough, the actual episode nine that I've been speculating about for so long was quite inspiring! My speculations were, of course, completely wrong. But hopefully, I've explained it away in THIS, the FINAL CHAPTER. Enjoy, Tarts, and be sure to let me know what you thought with a review!

_

* * *

_

_Jenna_

"Why is my lap covered in cereal?" Kevin stares down in horror, but his face quickly brightens. "Hey! I can _feel _my lap again!" He looks around. "And… we're in my trailer! Hey, Jenna, we're home!"

I sigh. "Looks that way," I say, dejectedly. "But did we accomplish anything? I feel like I was sent on some kind of mission with no clear direction of what I was supposed to be doing…"

"Yeah, it's kind of like that in Call of Duty: Black Ops…"

"How can you talk about video games at a time like this?" I wonder, amazed at how truly similar Kevin and Artie are sometimes. It's strange to be thinking of Artie as a real person, odd to know that are Artie and Tina back in their world now, probably just as baffled as Kevin and me.

"Sorry." Kevin even looks like Artie when he apologizes. He's infused so much of his own personality into his character that if it weren't for the grandpa sweaters and the wheelchair, I'd have a hard time telling them apart.

I sigh and rise to get Kevin a wet dish towel for his lap. He mutters a thank you, and I watch him mop up the milk and cereal in silence for a few minutes. Spending time in Tina's body has made me empathetic. I consider how torn she must feel, having to choose between two pretty terrific guys. Mike Chang's been nothing but wonderful to her, but she can't get over Artie either. There are love triangles everywhere you turn.

As Kevin rises to return the towel to the sink, stretching out his legs and giving a small sigh of relief, I stare out the window listlessly. The view of the rest of the parking lot and a wardrobe trailer isn't particularly spectacular. I idly think to myself that I'm going to be sad when I return to McKinley High School only to find that it's merely a set on a television show. Tina Cohen-Chang is an amazing girl, a girl who's often overlooked. Sometimes I think I'd like to _be_ her… except for the whole love triangle thing…

A sudden loud bang on the door interrupts my thoughts, and I startle with a jolt. The banging continues, growing more and more impatient. Kevin rushes to the door with a cry of, "Okay, okay, coming!" He flings it open to reveal a very flustered and very angry Lea. She blows her bangs out of her face and glowers at us in a very Rachel-like manner.

"_She warned you!" _Lea shrieks, pointing an accusing finger at Kevin. He backs up as she approaches and nearly falls over the couch. He ends up sitting down as she glowers down at him. I'd giggle because I can't help but picture Rachel cornering Artie under the staircase, but Lea's really freaking me out.

"Who warned me?"

"Rachel, of course," she screeches, throwing up her hands in frustration. "She told you _not _to stray from the script, but instead, you two decided to distort the whole thing! And the result? _Re-writes._"

She slaps two scripts down on the tiny plywood coffee table as both Kevin and I gasp in unison. Does this mean that our changes made it in? That Artie, instead of fighting with Mike and hating Tina, befriends Tina once again? And that this renewed friendship could eventually grow into something more?

"No," says Lea, flatly.

Double gasp. "You… you can read minds?"

She exhales loudly and fixes me with an irritated glare. "No, Jenna, you're just _that _transparent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Lea – I mean, Rachel – and…"

Kevin covers his mouth and does that goofy wide-eyed face that Artie always makes whenever he's super surprised. "I _knew_ it, you're not Lea, you're an imposter!"

"Well, _someone _has to fix things," insists Rachel Berry, tossing her hair over her shoulder with an exasperated huff. "Now we have a brand new script in which I get no solos and lose my boyfriend."

"How… how did Artie and Tina's story affect you, Rachel?"

"_Everything_ in the Glee-universe is intertwined," she explains, rolling her eyes at us as though we shouldn't even be asking such a stupid question. I exchange a troubled look with Kevin as she paces the floor in front of us, clearly distraught. "Or maybe you didn't notice, what with all the various Glee pairings?"

"More combinations than Fleetwood Mac," Kevin quips, in a spot-on impression of Kurt. His humor is not well received by Rachel and he bites his lip and offers a quick apology.

"I have to go," Rachel says, heading for the door and leaving the new scripts on the coffee table. She gestures to them, saying, "Get to work on those lines. And do be sure to stick to the script this time. We wouldn't want something _worse _to happen…"

She slams the door on her way out, shaking the whole trailer and causing several of Kevin's framed photos to fall off of a shelf. As he hurries to examine them for any damage, I cautiously lift the new script, almost afraid of what I'll see. Rachel's ominous threat of "something worse" still lingers…

"You think there's still going to be a wheelchair number in the new version episode nine?" Kevin wonders, taking a seat next to me on the couch. He picks up his own script and flips through quickly, evidently looking to see if the number is still there. It was a really cute rendition of "Roll to Me" by some random band from the nineties.

I can't flip through the script like Kevin's doing. I do not read this way. I read everything page by page without looking ahead, whereas Kevin always treats books and scripts like Cliff's Notes. He once told me that he read the ending to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" while waiting in line at the bookstore.

After a solid fifteen minutes of reading in strained silence, I finally find my voice again. I'm not even completely finished reading, but I've seen enough to know that absolutely _nothing _about this script is like the one we'd had before. There is no wheelchair number. Mike and Tina don't race wheelchairs through the hallway. Mike and Artie don't get into a horrible fight. In fact, the episode hardly focuses on Tina and Artie at all.

"At least they're kind of… friendly again?" I say, thinking maybe this is the small impact we've somehow made by visiting Artie and Tina's world.

"Yeah, but the Asian fusion is stronger than ever," Kevin says, grabbing my script and turning several pages ahead for me. I don't protest, out of pure curiosity, and instead look to see what he's referring to.

"'_Asian kiss?'_" Oh, dear Lord.

"And a lucky comb," he adds, smiling crookedly and rolling his eyes. "Brittany and Artie's working relationship has indeed blossomed into romance. Romance and… weirdness."

"But that is kind of cute…" I admit. I can't believe it, but I'm picturing the scene between Brittany and Artie with a smile on my face. The words that leave my mouth are even worse: "I ship it."

"'Asian kiss' is funny," says Kevin, staring down at the script. "I… I ship it, too, I guess. But only because of the context. Hell, I'd probably ship Kurt and Karofsky if the context was right."

I glance at the script in my hand again. "This is… this is just part of growing up," I reason. "And growing as a person. Mike is good for Tina… for the time being. And Brittany, she seems to need someone like Artie. And he seems to need to feel cool, to date a cheerleader and be on the football team. He's certainly been acting a lot nicer…"

"But Tartie is endgame."

"Tartie _is _endgame," I giggle. "But Kevin, what the heck is _endgame?_"

"It's from chess," he explains, pushing up his glasses in a very scholarly manner. "It means that there are very few pieces left on the board and the game is about to be over. You can also use the term to describe the final stage of any dramatic event."

His explanation is so very _Artie _that I just have to laugh. He grins back at me and I realize that our friendship is what makes Artie and Tina's chemistry so strong. We really _aren't _dating, despite what the tabloids want people to believe, but he's my best friend.

"So, you and I like the growth opportunity that comes from these two dating other people," I conclude. "But… we both still think Tartie is endgame. I can live with that. But what do we do about it?"

Kevin snaps his fingers. "The fans," he says, eyes widening with inspiration. "The fans are influencing the show now, more than Ryan or any of the writers would have us believe. And I know for a _fact _that they read fanfiction. Speaking of which, did you know that there are over fourteen _thousand _stories written in the _Glee_ category on fanfiction dot net?"

"Almost as many as _Gilmore Girls_, which has been around way longer," I comment vaguely, as Kevin grimaces at me. He hates it when I watch _Gilmore Girls._ I've gotten nearly all of the girls in the cast hooked on the old seasons.

"_Anyway_," Kevin drawls, his sporadic Texan accent coming through. "I was figuring that maybe if the fans wrote more stories about Artie and Tina, then maybe the show's writers would _read _them and…"

"The Artie-and-Tina stories are the best!" I exclaim, _loving _this idea. "But lately, there haven't been very many. There's been a lot of Artie and Quinn, which isn't remotely canon, but Tartie stories have all but disappeared lately…"

"And that is why we need to contact the authors to let them know that we need their help," says Kevin. "There are some really clever stories out there. But if they don't continue, I'm just not sure about the outlook for our characters."

As Kevin preaches passionately about the future of Artie and Tina, I can't help but smile. I like the idea of reading fun stories about the future of these two star-crossed misfits even more than actually seeing it play out on the show. I always was more of a book nerd anyway…

"Endgame?" I ask, extending my fist for a friendly bump. Kevin quickly returns the gesture, smiling back at me as our fists "explode," complete with geeky sound effects.

"Endgame."


End file.
